Canning Applesauce

This fall I've made three bushels of apples into applesauce and canned it. Every time that I make applesauce, I'm amazed at the wonderful contraption that makes applesauce making pretty easy.

It's all because of my Victorio Strainer (thanks Mom!).

Here's how I make applesauce...(I usually refer back to this website to make sure that I'm doing the canning part right)

1. Wash apples and cut into quarters. Don't worry about the core and the peel. The Victorio strainer takes care of those.

2. Cook apples until soft. I don't have a big stockpot, so I used my canning pot since it's big or sometimes I use other pots.

3. Dump cooked apples into the strainer hopper (the big white funnel).

4. Have someone help you smash the apples through the funnel while you crank the handle.

5. Watch the magic happen...the applesauce comes pouring down the "slide" and the apple "poop" (the cores and skins) comes out the other end. My kids love watching the strainer work. Sometimes I run the applesauce through the strainer a second time to get a thinner, smoother applesauce.

6. Then pour the warm applesauce into your warm, clean canning jars. Clean off the jar rim. Put the lid and ring on. Then put it in your boiling canner. Since we live at 7400 ft the processing time is longer, 35 minutes. Let sit in the canner for 5 minutes after processing.

7. Set the jars on your counter and wait for them to pop (seal) -- one of my favorite sounds. Then enjoy all year round!

One Hour Rolls

These rolls are amazing! I've been making these rolls since 2001 when I was a newlywed and my sister-in-law shared the recipe with me. The rolls are light, fluffy, easy to make and they only take one hour! And delicious too! I've made these rolls more times than I can count, so I've perfected the art of making them. Here are some step-by-step instructions with pictures for you. Here's what you'll need. I buy pretty much all of the ingredients in this recipe at Sam's club, thus the huge containers. You need warm water, yeast, oil, sugar, salt, egg and flour. In the mixer bowl, add warm water (not hot), oil, sugar and yeast. Mix together. After ten or fifteen minutes the yeast mixture should be puffed up like this. Time to add the salt and beaten egg. Then mix in the flour. (I've used a mixture of half wheat and half white flour successfully.) Keep adding flour until the dough is manageable. It will be a little sticky, b

Don't like your house to smell like food? I've got a kitchen tip for that!

I have a smallish, one story house and if I cook food that is kind of smelly, like onions, the smell tends to linger in every room. This is a pet peeve of mine and (also my husband's). Over the years I've found a few ways to cook smelly food without smelling up the kitchen. Use your garage! I use my garage quite often to cook things in. I open the window and it airs out, especially when you open the garage door. I'm sure my neighbors wonder what I'm cooking. I've used two different kitchen appliances in the garage: my crockpot and my food dehydrator. Crockpot - I did this very thing today since I'm simmering chicken, onions, carrots and celery to make chicken noodle soup tonight. I don't want my house to smell like onions all day, so I plugged it in on my husband's workbench. Food dehydrator - when I make jerky, I plug the food dehydrator in in the garage. I don't really want my house to smell like meat for hours

Chicken Angelo

Don't forget to enter the Whirley Pop giveaway . It ends tomorrow! Am I the only person that asks their friends what they're making for dinner all the time? That's kind of why I started this blog, because I want to know what my friends are making for dinner. The other day I asked my friend, Juli (who is great cook), what she was making for dinner. She told me she was making Chicken Angelo. Then she told me what's in it. I knew I had to try it too because she has some picky eaters at her house like I do. I figured if they'll eat it then maybe it was worth a try at my house. This Chicken Angelo pasta has my favorite things, artichoke hearts and mushrooms in it. But don't be fooled into thinking that my family likes these things too. Because they don't. They won't touch an artichoke or mushroom with a ten foot pole. That being said, my family loved this pasta dish. They even gave me the go ahead to make it again. They loved the ch

What is on your menu this week?

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